PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 59 



these curious fungi to our Irish flora. I exhibit a drawing (plate 1) of the three speci- 

 mens which he was fortunate enough to discover ; and, in giving the history of the 

 middle and most conspicuous specimen, I give that of the others also. The following 

 is from Mr. Hogan's notes : " The larva, bearing the Sphseria, was taken on the 

 10th of March, 1853, while digging for pupae at the roots of an oak tree, in Mount 

 Merrion, the demesne of the Bight Honourable Sydney Herbert, and the resi- 

 dence of E. Vernon, Esq. ; at this time they were quite young, the tallest not 

 being more than a quarter of an inch in height. On examining the larva, on the 

 12th of April, which, acting on the advice of Professor Harvey, had been kept 

 moist in a vessel filled with clay and moss, and covered with a piece of glass, I 

 found fully one dozen fresh sprouts on it, pure white, and one of them about one 

 line in height, shaped like a dagger ; from that time the Sphaeria continued to 

 grow, some more and some less, rapidly for several months, always retaining the 

 white point at the end of each stem, till, at length, the cold of winter seemed to 

 deaden, though it did not destroy their vitality ; meantime, none of the shoots 

 showed any sign of fructification. As early spring opened, the Sphaeria again 

 threw out fresh shoots ; some of the latter forming branches from the old ones, 

 whose extremities had withered away at this stage of their growth. However, the 

 space in which they were confined being manifestly too small, and seeming to 

 cramp their existence, I could not resist the temptation (though, from the extreme 

 delicacy of the plants, I knew it to be attended with great risk) of transferring the 

 whole into a larger vessel, where they might enjoy more space, more light, and more 

 air ; but this experiment proved fatal, from what special cause I know not, and 

 the entire nursery died away by slow degrees." Though it is a pity that none of these 

 Sphaeria fructified, so as to enable one to determine, with certainty, their species, 

 yet it would appear that these Irish Sphaerias are not either entomorrhiza or 

 militaris, which are the only two that have been found in England. I forwarded to 

 the Rev. Mr. Berkeley the Sphaeria, No. 3, and he most kindly forwarded me, by 

 return of post, the following : " There is no doubt that the Sphaeria is quite dif- 

 ferent from S. entomorrhiza. I know of no insect Sphseria like it. Of others, it most 

 resembles S. filiformis." 



It is to be hoped that Irish entomologists meeting with any fresh examples of 

 these Sphaeria will preserve them, and, if practicable, rear them until they fructify, 

 as by this means alone will it be possible to determine, with accuracy, the species. 

 I hope I may be excused for the imperfect manner in which I have accomplished 

 my task ; but, in introducing to your attention the recently mentioned Irish ex- 

 amples, I thought it better to give a sketch, however slight, of what 'is known to 

 naturalists concerning them. 



The President remarked on the advantages resulting to science from the careful 

 collection of scattered portions of information on a subject, hitherto so little studied, 

 as that of Mr. Wright's paper ; and expressed a hope that more satisfactory results 

 might yet arise relative to the Irish Sphaeria. 



Dr. Carte exhibited a fine specimen of the Egg of the Ivory Gull (Larus ebur- 

 neus), which had been taken, by Captain M'Clintock, in the arctic regions. He 

 observed the gull sitting on her nest, which was composed of dry sea-wrack, and, on 

 a near approach to her, she flew away, leaving the single egg exhibited in the nest. 

 Only one other specimen of this very rare egg seems to have been preserved 

 before. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF INSECTS FIGURED, AND REFERENCES TO PLATES ILLUSTRATING 

 THE NOTES ON KERRY INSECTS. BY A. H. HALIDAY, ESQ., M.A. 



N.B. The following symbols are used in common with all the figures, where 

 such are requisite : 



X, body; C, head; Cc, epistoma ; O, eye; Oo, ocellus; B, antenna; E, 

 mouth ; I/, labrum ; M r , mandible ; M, maxilla ; Mm, mala ; L, labium ; LI, 

 ligula ; P, Palpus ; P', maxillary ; P", labial ; Q, thorax ; K, sternum ; A, wing ; 

 S, leg ; S', fore ; S", middle ; S'", hind ; Sc, coxa ; St, trochanter ; F, femur ; 

 T, tibia ; Tc, spur ; D, tarsus ; Du, unguis ; Dy, onychium ; Dy', empodium ; 



